Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

15 reviews

lottie1803's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Misogyny, Grief, Sexual harassment, War, Homophobia, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Trafficking, Biphobia, Gaslighting, and Lesbophobia

jvalentine1386's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Xenophobia, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, War, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Sexual content, Classism, Sexual violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Rape, Alcohol, Pedophilia, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cursing, Lesbophobia, and Homophobia

ly_do's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Classism, and Torture

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Grief

vazquezjaznil's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A harrowing tale of love and loss. Loss of self and innocence. Some politics and power woven into the story. It is a story of a young woman finding her way through a flawed caste system in which the odds are not in her favor. After meeting what would be described as the love of her life she will go through events that will change her life and the life of those she’s come to love and care about.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, and Slavery

madimomreads's review

challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Body shaming, and Confinement

poppywarphan's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Characters: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6.5/10
Plot: 6/10
Worldbuilding: 5/10
Writing: 8/10

This might as well have been a standalone. But it's not because of that extra page at the end. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm invested enough to read any further installments.

The idea was good, the execution not so much. The worldbuilding wasn't really explored. The plot and writing were simplistic. That's not a bad thing, but on one hand it read as a book for younger teens, on the other hand though it discussed mature themes. There's rape. It's not graphic, but there nonetheless. If there's anything that triggers me in books, its sexual assault.  The girls are taken as mistresses and must have sex with the king against their will. Yes, they don't object, but it's either that or be killed.

The characters were underdeveloped. The king as a villain was just stupid. He's evil. OK, and? That's it? The paper girls were pretty indistinguishable. Aside from Aoki and Blue whose personality was being a bitch. The relationship between Lei and Wren didn't really have any foundation. It was pretty much just lusting and attraction.

Now, what I did like was what was done with Aoki's character. Not that I like what happened to her, but the book highlights how easy it is to fall victim to an abusive man. Aoki is the youngest out of the paper girls and naive. The king makes her feel special, so she starts having feelings for him. I like how it pointed out (although in a pretty juvenile way) that such a relationship is, in fact, not good (side-eyeing all the romance books that romanticize toxic relationships). Aoki is probably the most nuanced compared to the other two-dimensional characters.

Overall Girls of paper and fire wasn't a terrible book, just underwhelming. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Confinement, Sexual violence, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Racism, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Classism, Bullying, Death, and Genocide

karapillar's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Child abuse, Body shaming, Blood, Racism, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Murder, Torture, Stalking, Slavery, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Sexual content, Grief, Physical abuse, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, and Gaslighting

andromeda_1998's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The girls of paper and fire is one of those books who have been hiding at the back of my bookcase for years…. And after reading it I have to apologize towards them. They didn’t deserve my silent treatment. The first book is in my opinion a good read. The book has a heavy theme but that’s to be expected. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Rape, Murder, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Classism, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

sofiacazares's review

adventurous dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Genocide, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Slavery

planetshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism

Minor: Trafficking, Bullying, Gaslighting, Genocide, Infertility, Infidelity, Outing, Pregnancy, Slavery, and Toxic relationship